Researching The Past
by Timelong
Summary: Returning to the unknown planet that contains magic, a ragtag group of marines come to a new understanding of the universe that they live in. Reviews greatly appreciated.
1. Not Quite The Same World

AN: **THIS IS A SEQUAL **so please read Halo: Forerunner Powers before this if you haven't already. While still technically a Eragon/Halo crossover, this will be more on the Halo side. Mostly Halo. Actually, it will be almost only Halo. Sorry Inheritance Fans, but you are not forgotten. _It is not only Halo._ Either way, read and _please review_. No flames. Constructive criticism appreciated. This story has plenty of swearing. Not a lot, but you have been warned.

As for Halo: Forerunner Powers, even I can't stand my earlier chapters. I guess that's what happens when you start writing in middle school and end in high school. So if you didn't read the first story, be my guest and skim it. Read the last chapter more carefully, because it was also the only chapter I was truly satisfied with.

Chapter One: Not Quite The Same World

**It is December of the year 2555. Three years ago, the thirty year conflict for existence knows as the Human-Covenant War ended. I only got to fight for a short period of time in the war. Even with my small combat experience, I learned enough to know that our race cannot handle another catastrophe on such a scale. I can still remember the celebrations that came with the news of the war's end like it was yesterday. **

**Even though we nearly lost, that day just made me proud to be... well... human. There is no other way to describe it. And now, one year later, I watch the sings of rebuilding right outside my home's window. I sit and watch, and wonder... Humanity has passed the most difficult test it has ever faced. Now I wonder what is left out there. Is it worse than the Covenant, or better? I know which I would prefer. **

**This is why I became a journalist despite the need for jobs relating with the rebuilding effort. I personally feel that if no one will record this unique time period, then it will be forgotten. I don't want to forget. Nor do I want the future to forget once I will be gone. It is important for humanity to remember how it reacted after near extinction.**

Eragon kept his head low as he tried to look inconspicuous inside the crowded bar. This was the second time he was forced to hide from the Empire. The first was due to seeking revenge against the Raz'ac, now due to an ambush. Forced off Saphira for her safety, he was able to escape the Empire magicians that attacked him. Once again, he cursed the humans of the UNSC, cursed them for forcing the war to end. In reality, it didn't end. Galbatorix used the opportunity to dismantle his army. He replaced it with many small bands of loyal soldiers that would wreck havoc on the Varden whenever possible. The Varden and the elves were not able to simply start taking over cities: it was pointless. They would take one, move on to the next, only to return to takeover the first one again.

It was an ambush group that forced Eragon to traverse the Empire without Saphira. While taking a short stop to rest from flying, they attacked the two of them, using strange magic that Eragon was not able to combat. He had Saphira fly to safety and ran, relying on his greater speed to gain distance between his attackers.

And now he was stuck in a town, sitting on a stool in a crowded bar. Feeling the minds of people around him, he imminently retreated at the presence of other magicians.

"Need anything?" The bartender gave Eragon a strange look.

Eragon shook his head. "No."

A person sitting next to him raised his hand. "Get me a drink, will you?" The man then turned to Eragon, but his face was hidden by a hood. "I need a good drink, you know? Ever since the battle at the burning plains. The sky people, you know? Creeps me out, they do." he paused. "Don't feel like chatting? That's fine by me."

Not to arouse suspicion, Eragon remained in his seat, waiting for the strange man to leave. Something was not right about him. An Empire magician? Eragon didn't dare to find out. Despite the pitiful form of entertainment presented by the bards in the bar, he thought that he heard music originating from the man. A calming, soothing music created by an instrument he couldn't recognize. And yet, the man did not have anything to create it. But it could have just been his imagination and overly-sensitive senses.

Finally, after an eternity the man finished his drink and got up. Relaxing a bit, Eragon tensed as he saw a piece of paper was folded in front of him. It was clearly left by the man, and as Eragon started to turn to find the stranger and give the paper back, he noticed the writing on the other side. It was four letters. The four letters that Eragon despised at the moment:

UNSC.

_A few Months Ago...._

A doorbell ring woke Burton from his slumber. He looked at his clock on the wall of his apartment. It was just past midnight. The doorbell rang again. "I'm coming, hold on," yawned Burton as he pushed himself off the desk he fell asleep on, still in his regular clothing and all. Wobbling towards the door, he finally opened it, and saw who came.

"Sergent Stacker?" he asked, right as he snapped into a salute. The sergent waved him off.

"Forget it. You are not in the marines any more. Mind if I come in?"

Burton motioned him in. "Not at all, come in. Come in."

Stacker looked around Burton's small apartment. It had two desks. One had a few papers and a computer on it. The other one was covered with various tools and metal stacked in order. Next to the desk, a few packaging boxes lay, discarded. A small bed was shoved in a corner, a newspaper lying on it. In all, the place was very neat and tidy. Stacker than looked at Burton. The ex-marine looked like a wreck. "Your place looks nice, but you are a whole different story," said Stacker.

Burton grinned sheepishly. "I just left barely half a year ago. Didn't have much time to mess anything up since then. As for myself, I had a rough time adjusting back to regular life, and my job just barely pays the bills."

Stacker laughed. "I wonder what will finish what the Covenant started. Some stray ship full of brutes or out wrecked economy. I don't think anyone right now has a job they can retire on. Nice arm by the way."

Burton looked at his right arm, or the metallic prosthetic that replaced it. "I lost it on the replacement Halo the one with the Ark. Right at the end of the war. You do know that there were more Halos?"

Stacker sighed. "Yeah, I've bean on three. Two if you count the third as as the same as the first one."

"Th-there were three halos? I thought there was only one, and the Ark replaced it."

Stacker sat on one of the few chairs in the room. "There were three. And I had the bad luck to fight on all of them. Get this: The flood? On every last damn ring. I knew that you were on the third one, but didn't get a chance to meat you. Listen, there are actually seven Halos. The first is destroyed, and another one is where the Covenant city of High Charity used to be."

Burton sleepy brain took a while to click a few things together. "Don't tell me they want us to go on it?" he asked.

Stacker shook his head. "No. Actually, it's about the world we were on after the first Halo." He reached into his pocket and took out a photograph. It showed nineteen marines and the Chief assembled in front of a Longsword fighter and posing; at least the marines were. Another, smaller picture of another marine was taped on the edge of the main photograph. "Remember this place?"

Burton looked at the pictures. "I completely forgot about this place," he finally said. "Besides, we don't know where it is. We had use use the Ascendant Justice's maps to get back. We don't have those."

"The elites gave us the coordinates before leaving. Now ONI wants us to get back there, and well, I have no idea what else. They already have a ship prepared and some crew. They want all of us who were there before to go." 

Burton looked at the pictures again, this time at the faces of the people in them. "How many of us are left? I know that well, Harland, Ryan, Gordon and Jones died on that world. Wait, Foley and Rogers also died. Polaski, Haverson, and Locklear died getting during the first strike. But Johnson died on the ark, and the Chief is, well, he is also dead.. How many of us are left?"

Stacker sighed. "Patterson is still alive. Same with Banks. But that is it. Just the four of us."

Burton sank into a chair. "Just four?"

Stacker nodded. "Which is why we are getting a few others for the mission," he said. "Meet me at the SF station in a week."

* * *

Burton looked at the only ship in sight with dismay as he drove his civilian hog down to the parking lot of the station. The prowler looked small compared to the other ships Burton served on. "Is this our ship?" he asked Stacker, who just ran over upon seeing Burton.

Stacker got into the passenger seat. "Yeah, that's out ship. Drive you car down to it, where there are other vehicles, you're going to bring it with us. Nice ride, by the way," he added as an afterthought. AS another afterthought, he handed Burton a duffel bag. "Welcome back to the marines," he said with a smile.

As Burton parked his Hog next to the other vehicles next to the others, he looked at the people assembled. There was a large group, about a hundred, but he spotted Peterson and Banks fairly quickly. They were organizing the rest of the people, who did not seem to be happy at being bossed around by a sergent and a pilot.

Stacker hopped out of the Hog. "Everyone line up!" He shouted in order for everyone to hear him.

Burton took his position at a far end of the line, but Peterson dragged him to where Stacker and Banks were standing. Stacker took a hurried roll call to make sure that everyone were there, then he proceeded with his introductory speech.

"All of you know about the Halos. Alien hell-holes that are better off destroyed. What you don't know is where us four found ourselves at after the first Halo. We found ourselves on an obscure planet in the middle of nowhere," Stacker told the others. "On it, we discovered a primitive society of humans and other similar races. For once, we met a new species without imminently waging war. This you should have all read in your mission profile."

Burton caught the reference to the butchered attempts at making peaceful contact with Covenant vessels at the beginning of the war. Stacker continued with his speech.

"Obviously we couldn't hang around there. However, now ONI gave us a mission to reestablish contact. Their very intelligent members left the mission goal at that, along with all the stuff that you see above and behind you. Our ship is a frigate called The Final Frontier."

Burton looked behind the people at the assembled material. Two large piles were lying on the pavement. One looked like personal belongings of the people going on the mission. The other, much larger pile looked like military equipment and vehicles. A few warthogs and cases of weaponry were piled next to many more large unidentified boxes. The things that Burton found the most weird were the aircraft behind the boxes. The numerous aircraft were neither hornet, pelican or longsword. The aircraft were in fact, true aircraft: a few glistening, but old, Skyhawk ground attack aircraft, a few Firehawk air superiority fighters, and some more troop transport Hornets and their attack variants.

Next to Burton, Stacker finished his speech. "Alright, lets get everything into the ship and get going. It's no use cooking on this pavement."

As the others went to load the ship, Burton stopped Peterson. "What kind of stuff do we have here?" he asked.

Peterson shrugged. "Some old scraps and some classified things. I really don't have much of an idea."

Burton looked again at the aircraft. "What's with the planes? They look like they came out of a museum, and there are a lot of them."

Peterson laughed. "Actually, I asked for those. They wouldn't give any transatmoshperics like pelicans or longswords, so instead I asked for atmospheric planes. Also, you wouldn't know, but the longsword flies worse in the atmosphere. If were are going to be in a planet's atmosphere, why not use something that is suited best for it? I got the planes from the UN Defense Air Force." With that, Peterson turned an went to help with the loading.

* * *

Burton looked through the Frontier's bridge windows at the lonely planet the ship was now orbiting. All the humans on the ship were fresh out of cryo and preparing for landfall.

"How long did it take us to get here?" he asked Stacker, who was sitting in the captain's seat, as the de facto leader of the expedition.

The AI assigned to control the ship answered instead. "You were in cryo for almost two months. Keep in mind that this ship is faster now with the new drives."

Stacker grunted. "Doesn't stop it from falling apart, Mark." It quickly became clear from the moment everyone got into the ship that while it looked fine on the outside, it was obvious why they got the ship: the insides were in serious need of minor repairs to look even presentable. In short, the ship was "barely running", as the few techs on the mission said.

"So where do you suppose we land?" asked Mark the AI. The UNSC could only spare a second-rate dumb AI to pilot the ship. They didn't give it a human captain.

Stacker looked at the continents on the scanner screen. It showed the entire half of the planet that the ship faced in good lighting. Stacker ran a finger along the coastlines of the continents. "It has to be an are where enough land is east of the ocean..." he muttered. After a while, he found it. "Take us there," he said, tapping the screen. His touch was registered by the ship's computer and the coordinates were transmitted to Mark.

"When do you want to get there?" the AI asked.

Stacker thought for a moment. "When we are least visible," he finally said.

"Suit yourself."

Burton looked at the planet for a last glimpse before metal plates covered the view screens. "You think this will work? Establish a continuous, peaceful contact?" he asked Stacker.

Stacker turned around in his seat to face Burton. "What do you think?" he asked.

* * *

*Transport Hornet – my addition to a more realistic arsenal for Halo. Think of it as a hornet with a larger, longer body and cockpit for two. IT can carry up to twenty people overloaded.

Reviews greatly appreciated. Please review.


	2. Take Us To The King's Palace

AN: I forgot to put a disclaimer down in chapter 1, so here it is:

Halo in owned by 343 Industries. Sorry, Bungie, but Micro$oft gets to keep Halo. Reach is the last Halo game to have a Bungie logo on it.

Chapter Two: Take Us To The King's Palace

**The UNSC approached me with an assignment. They told me that during the war, an unusual planet was discovered. I was told that a small detachment of soldiers was going to be sent in to investigate, and I was to accompany them and record the events.**

**Seeing this as a way to get paid and make the government happy, I took on the assignment. I was expecting an easy assignment. After all, so many unusual things were discovered in the war, what can be even more unusual? I didn't know how wrong I was.**

**Exiting the slipspace jump, I was able to get my first glimpse at the planet. I didn't expect much: we were looking at the dark side of the planet. Upon looking at the geometric shapes created by lights, I saw that this obscure planet has much more hiding than anyone can realize. The war had a habit of spewing forth some very strange things. I guess that this part of the war did not end yet.**

Eragon watched the hooded man leave the bar into the now nighttime air outside. Taking a last look at the paper, got up and followed the man outside. Walking quickly but quietly, Eragon hid in the darkness in order not to be seen, muttering a spell to make him invisible in the process. He followed the man man until they got to the city gates. The hooded man took a look at the guards at the gates, and tuned right around.

Even though the man could not have possibly seen Eragon, there was no mistaking in the "follow me" that followed his passing.

Eragon cursed under his breath and followed the man. Although now he knew the man. He recognized the voice. It was Burton from the UNSC. That explained the paper from the bar, along with the music Eragon thought he heard. It was originating from Burton.

The two walked over to a wall surrounding the town. There, Burton turned to Eragon and said, "I'll tell you everything later. But right now, we get out." He motioned at a spot in the wall that wasn't too high.

"Why not just walk through the front gates?" asked Eragon.

Burton snorted. "We won't out at this time of day. Or should I say night?"

With a shrug, Eragon leaped the fence. It took a while for Burton to get over, though.

Looking around to get his bearings straight, Burton started walking away from the town. "Let's go," he said.

For a while, the two humans walked in silence. Eragon was waiting until they were out of sight behind a hill before confronting Burton.

"You have some nerve coming back here," Eragon finally said, "After you left, Galbatorix used the situation to strengthen his defenses. There is quick way to end the war. Any advantage we had in the burning plains is now gone." Eragon pushed Burton violently. "You have condemned the dragons to extinction!"

In order to keep himself from falling, Burton had to grab onto Eragon's arm. The momentum created by the push brought the two face to face.

"I did not do anything." Burton breathed into Eragon's face. "And have you forgotten about the Covenant? If you need to remember, they would happily destroy this entire world."

Burton pushed Eragon away. "You will be able to tell soon enough that I did not do those things. But for now, follow me and be quiet."

For the next hour, the two men walked in silence through the night. Eragon was busy trying to figure out any significance of the UNSC coming back. A few times, the thought to invade Burton's mind came across Eragon, but he ignored it. He promised to the marines that he wouldn't. The other most common though was to attack Burton, but he suppressed that too. He will have more chances in the future if he needs to.

"So what's that sound coming from you?" Asked Eragon.

Burton pulled something out of his ear. "Just music." The two continued walking in silence.

All of the sudden, Burton took a turn off the road.

"Where are you going?" asked Eragon.

"To those trees" Burton answered. Sure enough, there was a plot of trees growing a ways off the road.

A short while later, Burton came back, driving a dark blue warthog, bits of branches falling off. "get in."

Eragon didn't get in. "Why should I trust you?" he asked, again mistrusting the marine. "You appeared three years ago only to leave again. Now you came back. Why? You made defeating Galbatorix nearly impossible. As we speak, his armies can attack the Varden from all sides. Any advantage we got from the burning plains was wasted from our promise not to fight. Galbatorix didn't hold that promise, which forced us to break it in turn. Nothing changed. You spoke of peace, but it did not last. We are fighting and you are back. Why? What has changed?"

Burton gripped the steering wheel hard, leaning his head on it. "Everything changed." he finally said. "We won the war. You don't know how close we came to losing. I ask you this: what would happen f you lose your war?"

Eragon answered coldly. "Galbatorix will continue his tyrant rule and oppress the people. The dragons will become extinct and many will suffer."

Burton snorted and shook his head. "Many will suffer? That is all? If we lost the war, the wouldn't be anyone left to suffer. Don't you understand? Everyone would have died. They are all dead. There is hardly anyone left. This has to end. All the killing must end, or there will be no one left to kill. This is why we came back. To look for the one place potentially untouched by the war. Get in if you want the killing to stop. If you want to continue the murder, I will leave."

Burton waited for Eragon to get in. Eragon thought about it. As much as he mistrusted the marine, he gave him the benefit of the doubt. Getting into the passenger seat, he said "If you step out of line, I will have to kill you."

Burton nodded as he started driving. "That's exactly my point."

Burton followed the road for several hours, not caring if they were spotted by anyone out at night. Eventually, though, Burton took a turn off the road and drove into the night, towards the burning plains.

"Why are we heading towards the burning plains?" Asked Eragon.

"You mean the glass field? Because that's where our ship is. Well, what's left of it, at any rate. When the war ended, the economy was in such a bad state..."

As the warthog slid is way across the large expanse of glass, Burton gave Eragon a prep up about how, with the end of the war, humanity was busy rebuilding itself. Part of that meant looking for fresh planets to colonize, reestablishing contact with lost outposts, and just generally just getting humanity back on its feet.

"There's the ship. It's not much, but there was no choice"

Eragon looked around for the ship, but didn't see it. Until he looked up and saw it, or rather the charred and broken hulk of the ship.

"The engines malfunctioned as we reentered the atmosphere. Believe it or not, that shipwreck was all we were able to get. That's how bad things are. As much as a good ship is preferred, they are all used for defense. Most of the navy was annihilated, and with the Covenant threat not truly gone, all ships are needed to go to the navy. But other things are in somewhat greater supply."

Below the ship, small, round buildings were scattered in an orderly fashion somewhat away from the ship. Vehicles were parked at the edge of the buildings.

Eragon then asked "How are you-"

_Eragon!_ _You're back!_

Saphira was there, too.

* * *

_A few days before..._

The ship shook violently as hot air surrounded it during reentry. Stacker griped the edge of his seat as hard as he can in order to hold on, for its straps didn't seem to do anything.

"Maybe this thing can get it all over with and just explode." he said.

Mark just flicked in the hologram pedestal. "It won't do you any good," he said, "but we should finish reentry in about a minute. So far all systems reporting only minor malfunctions. Nothing vital is broken."

"Only minor malfunctions? Is there anything here not broken?" Asked Stacker.

Mark again flickered. "Well, me."

After an eternity the ship stopped shacking around. The viewport blastdoors opened to reveal the ground far below. Stacker noticed a patch of unmistakable glassing. "Take us thee" he ordered.

"You want it fast or you want it comfortable?" Asked the AI.

"I want it to get us there in one piece!" Stacker nearly shouted as another series of violent shakes tore through the ship. Except that those were different. They originated from somewhere in the back.

Mark piloted the broken ship down to a landing. Deploying its large landing pads, the ship rested on the ground and powered down the engines.

Stacker took a microphone and spoke into it. "All hands, this is Sergent Stacker. I want everyone to establish a base near this ship, and extract all the cargo from it. I don't want to risk something happening with all of us on board, not to mention that we will need to have some sort of ground contact. Get packing now, Stacker out."

"If you really want to know, there are a few more than just minor malfunctions in the ship." Mark said.

"Mark, weren't you ever taught about the right to remain silent?" Stacker asked the AI.

Stacker looked over at Patterson, who somehow managed to walk into the bridge. "We will need to get in contact with the people here as soon as possible," he said.

"What do you want me to do, fly around and hop to find them? There is a lot of ground to cover." said Patterson.

Stacker thought about it. "There is no other way to find them. They have no radios, nothing."

"I'm sure the UNSC team will have a form of contact. No radios? Seriously." Mark spoke up again.

"They are not UNSC, Mark." Stacker finished.

* * *

"Down here." Stacker told Patterson to land the Hornet next to what looked like a Varden camp.

"I hope this is the correct place. Otherwise there is a whole lot more of land to look around in."

"Well, you know, we did follow the blue dragon here." said Patterson.

"I thought you said we were following a radar contact." corrected Stacker.

"In this case, it's the same thing see?" Patterson pointed at the blue dragon as it landed in the middle of the large camp.

"Lets get the show on the road," announced Stacker.

Both men exited the Hornet and proceeded to walk towards the camp, but were stopped by some unfriendly looking people, bows at ready.

"Follow us," one of them said. They didn't sound friendly.

As Stacker and Patterson noted the hostile looks from the people in the camp until they entered a large tent. In front of them stood the leader of the Varden.

"Three years have passed before you came back, and you decide to betray us with an ambush." Nasuada said.

Stacker was startled. "Excuse me, what? We just came here. We only came to this camp by following the dragon."

"Saphira had to leave Eragon behind in Empire territory after an ambush. She had to fly away and in the process was shot." Nasuada said.

"Now wait just a minute. We came here only yesterday, and we didn't get a chance to attack anybody. Plus, we don't use bows remember?" Stacker explained.

"She was shot by bullets." Nasuada said while motioning at Stacker's pistol, hanging from his hip.

"You will have to believe me when I say that I did not do any of that. Besides, why would I come here if I staged an attack? Might as well shoot myself in the head while I'm at it. Saves me from the gallows." Stacker said. As an afterthought, he added, "You know what? Maybe I will go to the king and side with him. If only because big cities are easier to find. Get it? We don't even know how to get around here. We had to follow the dragon. The only radar contact for a hundred miles."

Nasuada huffed in frustration. "If I am to trust you, make me. For now, I will give you the benefit of the doubt. But if you want real trust, you will find Eragon in the Empire, and help him get back here. If you don't I will take this as an attack and will have to declare war on you." Nasuada finished. "And leave before Saphira gets here and tears you to pieces. She is not amused at all."

Stacker tossed Nasuada a radio. "So that we can keep in touch without having to cross the entire area. It's written how to use it. Use two-thirty point five as the frequency. Also, keep in mind, that if we ever wanted to kill a dragon, we would use something more than bullets." Stacker and Patterson exited the tent, ignoring the angry looks still trained on them.

Stacker and Patterson walked quickly back to the Hornet. When they were outside of the camp, Stacker radioed Burton. "Burton, I need you do something very important..." He explained the situation to Burton, and then radioed the AI. "Mark, tell everyone we will be gone for quite a bit longer. Some serious shit fell upon us and we need to clear a few things out before it hits the fan."

Climbing into the Hornet, Stacker tapped north on the compass. "Take us to the king's palace. We need to straighten this out," he told Patterson, and under his breath to himself "Bullets, man, why bullets?"

* * *

Review! Please!

Expect the half-year breaks. I mean it. I get distracted easily.

Sorry I took so long, but it is summer. Plenty of distractions.

But the story updated. Yey :)

v v v

- Review -


	3. Welcome To Alagaesia!

AN: I'm not going to say much. After _more than half a year_ (ouch), I have completed another chapter. I need to set my priorities straight. I don't want to make any promises about schedules, so without further chatter, here is chapter 3!

Chapter 3: Welcome to Alagaesia

**Our ship failed both in the best and worst time possible. The main engines went down just as we left orbit and landed not the most gentle of ways. I heard rumors of radiation leakage and explosions. Judging by the fact that the ship is deemed off limits and the vibrations felt during landed, I believe the rumors. But being grounded didn't give me much opportunity to explore. We landed on an area glassed by the covenant, so all around is just glass and nothing else. Travel is restricted with extremely tight measures. Despite this, some men come and go, so I guess you need special permission. I don't have it. But I did hear a few things from one marine who claimed to have been here before. I couldn't believe him. But I will say what he told me:**

"**This place is like no other. There are people here, but they are very primitive. Around the middle ages, in some areas more advanced, I others, way behind. What we consider unreal, they consider an everyday occurrence. Oh, and um... get this: they just call it common, but the language they speak is an altered form of English. I don't want to begin to grasp how unlikely this is. There are other things you might find out.. But you won't believe me unless you saw them with your own eyes."**

**Most of the personal and crew have no idea what the assignment is for. The common agreement is that we are looking for other habitable planets that were not glassed over. But there is a small group of five marines who have other opinions. The one who claimed to be here before was one of them, so I guess that they all were on this planet before. But they don't say much. One of them, however, told me that I should be prepared to see anything. He calls it the 2552 effect, after the last year of the war. He said strange things happened that year. New Mombasa. The Halos. The Ark. And now this. **

**This world doesn't seem to be related to the Forerunner artifact discovered in Africa. Maybe fairyland is just a coincidence. But those rings spotted from orbit do look like Forerunner symbols, so there might be a connection. Is fairyland something much more, something not meant to be discovered? Only time will tell...**

Albert Genette looked up from his computer after finishing his short article. It's not like the reporter would be able to publish it anytime soon, anyways. He had to get back to UNSC territory for that. Like that was going to happen. When the hulk of the ship was grounded, all material was brought to the ground, and the ship sealed off. The reactors were leaking bad, and only those with radiation suits and serious clearances were allowed in. At least, that was what he was told. But he wasn't allowed back into the ship in any case. He was a civilian. So he was stuck in the mess hall, a large plastic rectangle with a few rows of tables inside. It kept the weather out. But not noise.

Outside, the marines were behaving even louder than usual. Albert couldn't concentrate on his work anyways. He closed the lid and placed the computer in a backpack before heading outside. Looking around, he wasn't impressed. The only things breaking the glassed field were the UNSC shacks, men , and the occasional vehicle. He stopped as speakers announced that someone arrived.

A shadow crossed the ground next to him quickly. Albert looked up, roughly at the same time that he heard a few marines gasp in surprise, mimicking his own reaction. For what he saw was not a plane, as he expected, but a dragon. A large, blue dragon. It flew away from the UNSC base, northwards. Albert saw that it was heading for what appeared to be a warthog, but he couldn't tell properly at the distance it was at.

Albert then smiled with realization. This was what all the rumors were about. For a few days, he heard rumors about fantasy creatures. But he never explored them, and spent most of his time inside, to avoid the blistering heat. Now he knew what he missed out. And what that one marine told him he wouldn't believe. In fact, he still didn't knew if he was simply imagining it.

Looks like his day just improved by a long-shot. Now only to get a closer look...

* * *

As soon as Burton stopped the warthog, Eragon jumped out and ran to meet Saphira. He couldn't believe that she was here of all places, but he didn't care. He was with her again. That was all that mattered. _Saphira! I've missed you so muc_h! Eragon shouted with his mind. When he reached her, she lowered her head so that he can hug it.

Burton slowly rolled the warthog over. "People are watching, you know. By the way, almost all of them never believed in dragons, so it would be good for you to introduce her."

Eragon hopped onto Saphira's saddle. "Didn't they already see her come here?"

Burton shook his head. "Only as a green radar blip. She stayed out of sight. Do you realize how much convincing it took her to come here? From a safe distance too, she didn't allow us to come close after the... incident."

Saphira stood up tall and straight. On top of her, Eragon shouted, "Well then, let's go say hello!" As much as he mistrusted the UNSC, he wasn't going to look like a fool when he came over. Besides, Saphira was with them ,and safe. So at least they didn't actively seek out to harm them. _Wise words, c_ommented Saphira, interrupting his thoughts.

Together, they moved into the UNSC base, Burton slowly driving the warthog towards the other vehicles. Around them, they heard comments of disbelief, awe, and wonder. Some of them were pointing strange boxes at them, which emitted an annoying flash of light.

"They're not used to cameras. Keep the flash down to a minimum, guys!" Burton called out. He then motioned for Saphira and Eragon to follow him. Leaving the crowd of UNSC soldiers behind, Eragon and Saphira followed Burton to the edge of the base. A large building effectively made up an edge of the base all by itself, due to its length. Boxes with writing on them were arranged along the walls.

Burton lead them to the edge of the building, the corner of the base. Walking close to a large set of doors, Eragon watched in amazement as the doors opened with a hiss, leaving an opening that even Saphira could comfortably walk through, revealing a man waiting for them at one edge of the doors.

It was Banks.

Burton followed Eragon and Saphira inside, and the doors closed behind them.

Banks smiled at Eragon and Burton. "So how did the pick up go? I only got a brief notice that you guys were close, so I hadn't fully made the arrangements. That, and I really don't know what dragons like..."

Burton and Eragon laughed. Saphira made a noise that sounded like a strange coughing. Eragon looked around the large room. The walls were a bare, if he didn't count the pattern that the plates of material created by joining together. A large couch lay against one wall, with a table in front of it. A bed sat next to it. For the most part, the room was bare. A large pile of soft cushions and cloth lay piled up in the center, presumably for Saphira. Banks caught Eragon's staring.

"It's not much, I figured that if there's anything that you'll need, you can just ask for it." Banks explained.

Eragon frowned. "Why can't we just leave. Go to the Varden? I mean, you saw the others. They looked quite... surprised. It will be better if we just head back to the Varden camp-" he tried reasoning, but Burton cut him off.

"If we allow you back to the Varden it will make dealing with the Galb much harder. Look, I know you disagree, but we want to stop the war right now. For us, humans fighting other humans stopped nearly half a century ago. We can't just sit back and allow this war to continue with a clear conscious. And for the war to end, we need both of your side's cooperation." Burton said. Eragon looked furious. Burton sighed. "You know how many will die if you will continue to fight. But if we can get the Varden and Empire to work together, a peaceful solution can be achieved. At least your leader saw the logic behind it."

Eragon clenched his fists together. "Nasuada agreed to this? This is madness! I need to talk to her!" Saphira had another idea. _Probe their minds. They might be bluffing._ Eragon smiled a little. _Already did. They are not bluffing. That's what worries me._

Banks handed Eragon a tablet. It made a repeating ringing noise. Eragon grunted, and tried giving the pad back to Banks. "Give me a mirror," he said. Banks simply refused to take back the pad. Because just then, Nasuada's face appeared on it.

"Good to see you in one piece, Eragon. Oh, I can see Saphira behind you, so I guess that you are at the human's base. These... pads... are strange. Magic-less scrying mirrors. Very interesting. I almost had to ban Orrin from getting hold of them so that he won't break one trying to find out how it works, but I digress. What's the matter?"

Eragon explained his worry and concern with the UNSC plan to interfere and end the war. "It will put everything we fought for to waste, and what's worse, it's too likely that Galbatorix will remain in power. We can't allow them to get away with this." Behind him, Burton and Banks pretended not to hear him.

Nasuada sighed. "I know all that. But they provided a very convincing argument. The most convincing point is that they provided is that as we speak, two of them are in Urû'baen, talking with the king himself. That is why I agreed to let the humans have you stay with them. For now."

Eragon gasped. "What?" Nasuada explained a few more things to him, and updated him with the news. When the tablet turned blank again, Eragon just stood there, feeling numb. Saphira tried to help him. _I'm sure that things will work out. Nasuada didn't seem concerned, and she wouldn't betray us._

Burton cleared his throat in order to get Eragon to notice him again. "If you want to be left alone for a while, we will. Just ask for anything if you need it."

Eragon nodded. Burton and Banks opened a smaller pair of doors and left outside, leaving Eragon and Saphira to think.

Outside, Burton nearly walked into a large group of marines. The reporter, Albert, asked for permission to get in for an interview.

"Not now, Albert. Maybe in a few hours," Burton said. He then raised his voice so that the others can hear. "All you want to know, in the mess, five minutes!" Immediately, the marines dispersed, heading to the mess building to get to hear what Burton and Banks had to say about the dragon...

* * *

Stacker had Patterson land the Hornet well out of visual sight of the main capital city. They landed early morning, and had to walk the rest of the way. A walk that took half the day. But the worst part was the fact they were constantly surrounded by the local population. They had to stay on their guard and look natural in order to avoid rousing suspicion. At least they got some spare clothing from the Varden. The material was made of poor quality, at any rate. The walk was long and boring. The only scenery were the few miles of grasslands that the view had to offer. And a lot of loud, dirty people.

Finally, the two men reached the main gates of the city. There, the congestion of people made it possible to get inside without having to be stopped by the guards. Or so they thought.

"Where do you think you two are going?" A voice asked behind Stacker. Something sharp pressed against his back beneath the backpack he wore. Stacker slowly turned around and saw a city guard, looking both bored, and at this moment, enjoying himself.

Stacker backed away from the knife the guard pressed against him. "We have some business here. We don't mean any trouble." Stacker and Patterson were told to change their language slightly, and only speak when they absolutely need to.

The guard didn't buy it. "What kind of business? With the King? He will enjoy very much knowing that two wanted men willingly came right into his domain!" The guard laughed.

Stacker's stomach dropped. They were already caught, and they barely made it through the front gates. Patterson also looked worried. The guard herded them thought the crowded streets. It was hard not to attract a few glances from the people in the city. However, the guards seemed to be, in a way, helping them: the castle was getting closer. Stacker and Patterson were escorted to yet another set of gates. This time, the gates blocked off the main road to the castle. Another set of guards blocked them off.

"Where are you bringing these two?" Asked one of the new guards to the escorts. The escort motioned at the tower.

"I'm bringing them to the king, himself. And if you don't let us through, it's him who you'll be answering to," the escort replied. "So step aside and open the gates."

After a moment, the gates opened, revealing the path to the caste itself. The escorts lead Stacker and Patterson inside the stone building. When they got inside, all but one turned around and left. The castle was rather elegant. It looked better visually that Earth castles, but it also looked like it won't be able to stand up to the same punishment. When walking through the tall, rounded corridors, one of the escorts gave a rather detailed tour of the building, including the numerous art pieces hanging on the walls.

"This tapestry shows what this land was like a few centuries ago, when the Riders ruled the land. They were great leaders, but in the end, the underlying problem couldn't be solved with them. Aye, so they had to be fought. Now the king rules this land." The escort was saying.

Stacker chose to humor the guard, and be on his good terms. He was still trying to figure out how the escort knew so much about them. "What was the underlying problem?" asked Stacker. The guard briefly stopped to point at the numerous dragons on one tapestry.

"No one could oppose them. They ruled with their magic and might, and not always with the commoner's will in mind."

Stacker frowned. That was much different than what he remembered the elves telling him about the Riders back when they were stuck in the forest the first time around on this world. As they walked up a spiraling staircase, he decided that the guard seemed friendly enough. And so he decided to risk it and ask what was bothering him. "I don't mean to offend you," Stacker started, trying to sound polite, "but I am wondering, how do you know so much about us, why we came here to meet the king?"

The escort shrugged. "We read your minds. Everyone that passes the front gates has their mind checked. For safety, not one person goes through unchecked. If we can't read it, we stop you. If you have suspicious thoughts, we stop you. And as for you two, you have the most interesting minds. Is it all true?"

Stacker frowned. He completely forgot about how the people here can read minds. but it was Patterson who asked, "What's true?"

The escort tried to find the words to describe what he read in their minds. "Is it true about the big war? I heard storied from a few soldiers who returned from service about a great battle against a mountain in the sky, and these flying machines! I never believed them, but wait, hold on, you were there! And now you came back, and want to see the king! It all fits!" The escort smiled broadly as he pieced all the clues together. Patterson gave Stacker a look that said _he's nut_s.

Finally, after a few more minutes of walking through elegant corridors, they arrived at a pair of large doors, gilded with gold and silver markings. The escort knocked on the doors, and they opened, revealing a large circular room. The escort waved them in. "This is where we part. Wait in this room until the king invites you in. When you first meet him, walk forwards, stop a few paces before him, and bow. I would love to stay and have a nice conversation with you, but I must return to my post." The escort turned around smartly and left.

Stacker and Patterson surveyed the room. It was pleasant enough, serving as a rather luxurious waiting room. Another set of gilded doors were closed. They were probably the ones that the King was behind. A few stuffed armchairs were lined up against the wall, and a wooden board with a few pieces of paper with writing hanging on it. Stacker examined the papers. They looked like news, but they didn't have a date on them. One paper talked about the current economics, but Stacker couldn't make sense of it.

Deciding that he read enough from the board and sat down on a chair, pulling out a reader. Unrolling it, he turned the power on and pulled up an entry from the memory: there was no connection to the basic UNSC network in the base. Next to him, Patterson chose to pass the time by grabbing a quick nap while listening to music from a sound player in his ears. Stacker theorized that the constant flying was tiering the pilot out, so he let Patterson sleep. Seeing as no one else weer in the room, Stacker was content to just sit there and read, trying to calm his mind as he started becoming nervous. He was going to meet the king of this land, and try to negotiate. Stacker starting feeling sick, and tried to calm his racing mind.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the doors that Stacker and Patterson didn't go through clicked. Stacker got up and woke Patterson up. A few moments later, the doors opened up, filling the room they were in with a blinding light.

Stacker and Patterson had to cover their eyes from the light, and as they did so, a voice told them, "Come on in. I've been waiting for you."

Stacker and Patterson walked into a great hall, the walls adorned with amazing stained glass pictures. At the end of the hall, was a large chair. And on it sat a man who Stacker presumed was the king. The king looked rather young for someone over a century old. He looked to be in his eighties*. The man watched them as they approached him, stopping about twenty feet from him.

Stacker and Patterson bowed slowly. When the straightened up again, the man spread his arms wide, smiling.

"I am King Galbatorix, and I bid you a warm welcome. Welcome, soldiers of the UNSC, to our world. Welcome to Alagaesia!"

* * *

AN: Well, here is another chapter. Sorry for taking a long time. But another story took over for a while, along with my rather clichéd slow pace of writing. But about two weeks ago, I figured that I will finish this chapter, so here it is. Believe it or not, but roughly 90% of this chapter was written in the past two weeks. I am not dropping the story, but I have my other one better planed out, and at this moment, I like it better.

Thank you to all who favorited or alerted this story. And also, thank yo for your patience. A review would be welcome, but not necessary.

*In the Halo universe, humans regularly live to the theorized human maximum life span of 150 years. So for them, a person who is 80 years old will be the same as someone 40 in todays' world, just as today, someone who is 40 would have been the equivalent to a 20 year old in the middle ages.


	4. A Proposition

AN: Here is chapter 4. I guess that I got it in sooner than I expected (?). Eh, not really. A lot of things came up that stalled it's process, such as school. I wanted to crank this out a few weeks earlier, but couldn't. Either way, thanks for the reviews, and enjoy chapter 4.

Chapter 4: A Proposition

**Just as luck would have it, part of the cargo just happened to be a new prototype communications satellite. Once in orbit, it will be able to communicate using slipspace messaging. Without any physical mass to transfer, data through such communications will be able to travel almost instantaneously throughout all the colonized worlds. This technology is again courtesy of research into Covenant technology. But the main problem is getting this machine into orbit. With a broken ship grounded indefinitely, we have no way to call for help and repairs. With this satellite, we would be able to do that. But it needs to be put into orbit...**

**The men proposed a last ditch effort to get the satellite up: scavenging from the ship, they plan to build a one-use multi-stage rocket. That, in turn, will carry the satellite up into orbit. This idea is considered crazy by everyone and just as unanimously hated, but we have no other choice. We are desperate.**

**What's more, the men say that the rocket will have another goal: To say that we are technologically superior to these natives is not hard. But to say that it's better is not as easy when we have a nicely broken, gutted, and charred ship to show off. So they think that showing off a rocket launch can do what the ship can't: amaze the locals in a positive way.**

**But for now, we can just wait, hope, and work. It is theorized that if the satellite will work, mass application of such devices will revolutionize communication. They will connect worlds, entire star systems, much the same way the net connected Earth in the early twenty-first century.**

**A daunting prospect, to say the least.**

King Galbatorix didn't look like what Stacker expected. The king was decked out in a rather unimpressive outfit, that while expressed wealth, looked more like it offered comfort over appearance. Stacker thought of that as a good thing: the king knew what he wanted, and wasn't afraid of letting others get in the way. After a while, King Galbatorix finally spoke up again after greeting the two soldiers.

"As you are aware, our world is much different than what you are used to," he said, "but I do not consider that as a... difficulty. In fact, I see it as a potential. A way for both of us to improve our respective homes: My Alagaesia, and your... worlds." He said with some hesitation. "As I understand, you just emerged victorious from a massive war. May I ask what it was like?"

Stacker held out a hand to stop Patterson from speaking. He, on the other hand, cleared his throat and started speaking, nervously. "With all due respect, your highness, I wish not to discuss our past. It was horrible to say the least, and many men still feel uncomfortable speaking about it, let alone having someone else talk for them. I will respect their wishes and not discuss it, not without them present." He explained. "And also, we are rather short on time, and we have other things to discuss."

Stacker cleared his throat again. "About the war, one thing that everyone left alive are proud to say is that for the past thirty years, the entire human race has been united and at peace with itself. And now it is our goal to preserve that peace for as long as possible. So when we.. came here the first time, we were rather shocked to find two separate human factions at war with each other. Well, with your permission, we would like to help negotiate a peace treaty between your kingdom and the Varden." He said.

Galbatorix leaned forwards, interested. "And what did the Varden say?" He asked.

Stacker sighed. "They have agreed to give up their ambition to conquer you if that will mean peace between you and them." He said. Finished, he looked down at the ground, knowing that there was one more point to say, but he didn't want to do it.

Patterson, on the other hand, knew what had to be done. "Tell him," he muttered.

The king leaned forwards again. "Tell me what?" He demanded.

Stacker became even more nervous than before. "Well... We were given express orders that..." He gulped down hard. "That if peace cannot be made, we will have to directly interfere and bring the war to an early end." He said.

Galbatorix leaned back. "Now I don't think that will be necessary." He said, to the obvious relieve of the two soldiers. "If the Varden are as self-righteous as they claim to be, they will see the reasoning in negotiating for peace. You must understand, on the other hand, that there is another reason to negotiate: There is one last dragon egg. It will determine the next Rider, and will help to stabilize the region, once it hatches." He said. "The Varden are desperate to get it in order to get another Rider on their side. I must not let that happen, for if they will get a second Rider, they will assume themselves to be powerful enough to wage war again. And you don't want that war to get even worse."

Stacker now felt really nervous. "Well, about the power struggle... The Varden have told us that your forces attacked them. With guns." This piece of information was given to them by Burton shortly after he extracted Eragon from the Empire. "The Varden think we are helping you because of this."

Galbatorix laughed at this. "Those guns are not your kind, if that's what you mean! They were designed by my best thinkers after I got reports of your performance against the Urgal forces." He said. "I have to apologize for imprisoning you and your men, but I had to protect my kingdom from the unknown."

Stacker nodded. "I understand." Even though he still felt resentment against the king for his actions the first time they were on Alagaesia, he knew that holding a grudge won't help them. "So how are the guns like?" He asked, hoping to get some information on exactly how much original work went into those, and how much was just a plain copy.

"Maybe I can show you them in some other time," Galbatorix said, as though he read his mind. And knowing how magic operated here, he probably was.

"So is there a possibility of an arranged meeting between either you or a representative for the Empire meeting with the Varden?" Stacker asked, bringing the topic back to his main concern.

Galbatorix smiled again. "And not have to fight your forces? I will send someone to talk." He said. "Where should they go to?"

Stacker thought for a moment, but the answer was clear. "To the Burning Plains." He said. "This was where the Varden and Empire armies united with us against the Covenant, and where we now hold our base. This way, we can oversee the meeting, and at the same time, the place will hold symbolic meaning that is neutral to both sides." As Stacker said this, he surprised himself at how he was able to make up such weird stuff in real time, but it sounded good enough for him.

Galbatorix leaned back in his throne. "I like the sound of that," he finally said, "You will know when my man will come." The king motioned at the door. "I would love to have you stay and chat, but I am a busy man," he said, "have a nice journey, and once again, welcome to Alagaesia."

Stacker and Patterson bowed again and left the room, Stacker feeling rather foolish. "You think it will work?" He asked Patterson when they left the room.

Patterson shrugged. "Might. Might not. We will simply have to see." He replied. "You know, this Galabarla..." H stumbled over the name, "the King was much more pleasant than we were told he would be." Stacker nodded in agreement.

Once again, the two marines were stopped by a guard. This time, the guard was pleasant enough. "I've been ordered to escort you out of the city," he said as he motioned at a table with all their things on it. He gave them time to grab their belongings and check that everything was there. When they were ready, he lead them to the gates in silence, and left them once they left the border of the city.

Stacker and Patterson mostly walked in silence as they headed back to the hidden Hornet. They uncovered it quickly enough, and Patterson requested that he pilot them back in silence, so Stacker took the opportunity to simply rest on the flight back. By the time they got back to base, it was evening, and the sun low over the horizon.

* * *

Eragon, to his annoyance, found himself surrounded by a large group of curious marines.

"Can it breath fire?"

"Can I have a ride?" _Not a chance_

"I bet I am better!" _In your dreams._

At least this reception was more interesting than the one the Varden usually gives.

Burton grinned as his fellow marines swarmed the rider after his announcement. After a while, he decided that the poor kid had enough torture. "Come on guys, that's enough!" He shouted to make sure that they heard him. Despite his low rank, they all listened, knowing that he was important enough to listen to. "If you have something really important enough to tell him, or a few _real," _he emphasized the_ real, _"then you can ask him privately. But now, please leave the poor guy alone." Slowly and grumpily, the group dispersed as the marines went of to do their own things. Burton looked around. "Where's that reporter," he muttered to himself. "Hey, Albert!"

Albert ran towards him. "I'm here!" He announced. "Can I start?" He asked. Burton, knowing what the reporter wanted to do, nodded.

Albert grinned at turned to Eragon. "Can I ask you for an interview?" He asked eagerly.

Eragon looked at him, and then at Burton, who smiled and nodded again. "And interview...?" He asked, slightly unsure. In his head, Saphira found it amusing. _He won't hurt you. At least, if he will, he won't live to talk about it. _Eragon nodded after a short while. "Yeah. Why not?" He followed Albert to another room, where Albert set up a bunch of strange looking equipment. "What's that?" Eragon asked, curious.

Albert looked up from his set up. "This? Oh, it's recording equipment." He explained. "I am going to ask you some questions, and it will record what you say." He found it amusing how the dragon rider looked amazed at the simple technology. "Here, have a sit." Albert motioned at a chair, and Eragon sat on it. Albert sat down on another chair behind a small desk, facing Eragon. He took out a pad and turned on the recording equipment.

"Anything you say, you have a right to ask not to be repeated," Albert said. "Right. I will ask you a few question I came up a short while ago." He cleared his throat before proceeding. "The first question is: How did you befriend a dragon?"

Eragon chuckled a little at how wrong this marine was. "It's a long story..." he said, and then proceeded to explain how exactly he found Saphira.

After that, Eragon answered a few more questions, from the mundane, to some tough ones, such as what he thought the arrival of the UNSC back at the first time. After some hesitation, he answered it as well. But then came a question that he didn't like at all.

"What is your opinion about the UNSC as a whole?" Albert asked.

Eragon hesitated. "Well, I don't know exactly yet," he said uncertainly. _Watch it,_ Saphira told him. "I'm sure that you mean well, but right now I think that you will only make things worse." He paused, thinking of what to say. "We right now are in a war with the Empire. And it appears that, even indirectly, you are helping it. And I already know that if we will try to take the initiative, you will stop us." Eragon said. "So to be truthful, I think you are only making things worse. I can't even go back to my own side. For now, you guys are locking me up here." Eragon explained.

Albert sighed and nodded. Reaching out, he turned off the recording equipment. "As much a I would like to understand, I simply can't." He said. "We have just won a war. But victory was not riches or new territory. Our prise for winning is the simple right to continue existing as a species." He told Eragon. "For the past thirty years, all known humans united under the common goal for survival. And for twenty-nine of those years, it was not enough." He shook his head sadly. "Our victory over the Covenant is costly. As far as numbers go, we are a healthy species, but that is not the case. With only a few colonies and our home-world remaining, we are at the verge of extinction." Albert leaned closer. "We did not actually win the war," he said, "We only destroyed the Covenant. But they still have forces remaining powerful enough to finish off the human race if they united against us. The immediate threat is over, but we must still be ready for our final stand if we need to."

Albert leaned back. "What this means is that, in our eyes, you are committing one of the worst sins imaginable. You are willingly engaging in warfare against fellow humans." He motioned around the room. "Outside these walls are about a hundred UNSC personnel. All of them, including me, are trained to fight and kill without hesitation," he said, "but if you ask them to level their weapon at another human..." he shuddered. "I don't know if they can pull the trigger."

Eragon looked at him, feeling slightly guilty. Albert shook his head before continuing. "So you must understand that we came here not to help out one side or the other, but to stop the war immediately and cease the bloodshed. You might say that it's not our right, but after what happened in the past three decades... I think humanity can take care of itself without having to fight."

"But humans will always fight for one reason or another. Surely you know that!" Eragon tried arguing back.

Albert smiled sadly. "That is true. But it doesn't give a reason to start now." He said. "There will be another war, some where, some day. But as long as there isn't, let's keep it that way." He sighed. "The next thing you know, here we are, trying to stop this one."

Eragon didn't know what to say. After a while of thinking, he finally spoke up. "Well, even if you mean well, how many here will appose you? The Varden hate the Empire, and so do they likewise."

Albert leaned back. "That's where your leaders come in. We sent some men to try and talk with the king, while you are already aware that the Varden, for now, are listening to us." Eragon nodded slightly, still angry at Nasuada's decision. "We will find out what will happen when the two come back from the Empire."

* * *

Stacker squinted as the sun got into his eyes. Patterson, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind, even as the pilot landed the Hornet on the pads. The two of them exited the aircraft and made their way to the mess hall for some supper. On the way there, Stacker spotted Saphira resting inside one of the hangers. Inside, there were a few soldiers inside, but so was Eragon.

Stacker and Patterson walked over to him and sat down. "So, you made it," Stacker commented. "How was the trip?"

Eragon looked at them but didn't answer. He looked rather mad, and out of nowhere quickly pulled his fist back and punched Stacker hard in the face, causing the marine to fall out of his chair. The entire place turned dead silent.

"What was that for?" Stacker demanded angrily, rubbing his chin where he got hit. "Don't they teach you that that's not a polite way to say hello?"

Finally, Eragon decided to speak up. "You are helping him, aren't you?" He said in barely a whisper. "Saphira nearly got hit by one of your guns. And now you dragged me here."

Stacker shook his head. "Didn't anyone explain to you-"

"I already tried." It was Burton, sitting nearby. Up until now, he tried not to get involved and mind his own business, but that won't work. "He's still convinced that we are against him. And specifically, you."

"Until I hear from your superiors, I am not trusting you." Eragon replied, ignoring the unanimous hate he was now getting. "You were gone long enough to make things worse."

Knowing that it could get ugly and fast, he took a deep breath. "Everyone out! Right now!" Murmurs of complaint escaped the marines, but they complied and left the mess hall. Stacker pointed and Burton, Patterson, and Eragon. "Not you. You three stay here."

When the last marine left the building, Stacker let out a long sigh. "Look, kid," he said, resorting to Eragon's nickname they gave him back when they were stranded on Alagaesia the first time. "You might think that we left and didn't come back because we didn't want to." He shook his head. "You can't believe how much I wanted to return. Not because this place is great, but because what it would symbolize." He looked at the plastic roof. "The only reason why we were able to come back is because we won our war. Remember that big purple ship we attacked?" Eragon nodded. "If they had won, you wouldn't be here anymore." Stacker said simply.

Patterson spoke up, feeling left out. "Out of the nineteen you remember in the forest, only four remain. Us three and Banks, who's somewhere else at the moment. So this is why we are 'helping' your enemy. Because we want to stop this war as well. We've had enough of war."

Eragon still wasn't convinced. "So you will help the side most likely to win, right?" He asked. "Help the Empire destroy the Varden and get your pea-."

"No." Stacker said sternly, cutting Eragon off. "With the two of you, no one wins. We aim to win, not let one of you. Ask your commander, she might be able to convince you."

Eragon looked away. "You still hadn't explained how we can contact your superiors. I remember that you are far from being a leader."

Stacker was amazed by Eragon's stubbornness. "Just a question, where do you think we're from?" He asked. Maybe the rider will remember that some things were not easy for the UNSC.

Eragon thought about it. "Across the ocean, maybe. That's why you needed that ship. To get across quickly enough. And you do call it a ship."All three marines next to him looked extremely offended. "What?" Eragon asked. "Not where you're from?"

"If only we were." Patterson said. "Crossing oceans is easy. It's space that isn't. I'm sure you got a good look at our own ship." Eragon nodded. "Didn't look like much did it? It doesn't work either. We are trying to fix it with what we have."

"But that can take a while." Burton finished for him. "We have a piece of equipment that can contact our superiors. But only if it's in orbit."

Stacker was not aware of this piece of news. "And how are we going to get it up? It's a satellite, I presume."

Burton nodded. "There's an idea going around of scavenging what we can to build a rocket." He explained. "Just needs your go-ahead."

Stacker was impressed. "And by-pass fixing the ship. Yes, that might work..." He looked at Eragon. "Tell you what, you stay here until we get that satellite up, then you can talk with our generals all you want."

Eragon thought about it. Saphira didn't exactly help. _Considering how you are acting, I'll agree no matter what. _She told him. _I, at least, trust them. They don't mean harm for us. You heard them, and how they talked. They're not making it up._

Eragon frowned. _You searched their minds, didn't you?_ He asked her.

Inside his head, he felt Saphira laugh. _Yes I did. But it's worthless to tell you what I got. It's so strange, confusing, and... horrible. They've been through a lot, little one. Don't make it hard for them._

Eragon finally sighed. "Alright, I'll do it." He agreed. "But I want to see that... rocket first."

Stacker smiled and leaned back in his chair. "We don't have magic kid. First we design it, then we build it."

"What he means," Burton explained, "Is that there's nothing to look at yet. Makes it even better. You will see the entire construction process."

"And how will you build it in the first place?" Eragon asked.

"We'll figure something out." Patterson answered. "We'll find a way."

* * *

AN: Thanks for the reviews, guys! Yes, this story is not abandoned! :)


End file.
